Taking the Covenant from the Jews
Allah tells;
وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ الطُّورَ خُذُواْ مَا اتَيْنَاكُم بِقُوَّةٍ وَاذْكُرُواْ مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
And (O Children of Isra'il, remember) when We took your covenant and We raised above you the Mount (saying);"Hold fast to that which We have given you, and remember that which is therein so that you may acquire Taqwa.
Allah reminded the Children of Israel of the pledges, covenants and promises that He took from them to believe in Him alone, without a partner, and follow His Messengers. Allah stated that when He took their pledge from them, He raised the mountain above their heads, so that they affirm the pledge that they gave Allah and abide by it with sincerity and seriousness. Hence, Allah's statement,
وَإِذ نَتَقْنَا الْجَبَلَ فَوْقَهُمْ كَأَنَّهُ ظُلَّةٌ وَظَنُّواْ أَنَّهُ وَاقِعٌ بِهِمْ خُذُواْ مَأ ءَاتَيْنَاكُم بِقُوَّةٍ وَاذْكُرُواْ مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
And (remember) when We raised the mountain over them as if it had been a canopy, and they thought that it was going to fall on them. (We said);"Hold firmly to what We have given you (Tawrah), and remember that which is therein (act on its commandments), so that you may fear Allah and obey Him." (7;171).
The mount mentioned here is At-Tur, just as it was explained in Surah Al-A`raf, according to the Tafsir of Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ata, Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Ad-Dahhak, Ar-Rabi bin Anas and others. This is more obvious.
There is another report from Ibn Abbas saying;
`The Tur is a type of mountain that vegetation grows on, if no vegetation grows on it, it is not called Tur.'
And in the Hadith about the trials, Ibn Abbas said;
"When they (the Jews) refused to obey, Allah raised the mountain above their heads so that they would listen."
Al-Hasan said that Allah's statement,
خُذُواْ مَا اتَيْنَاكُم بِقُوَّةٍ
(Hold fast to that which We have given you),
means, the Tawrah.
Mujahid said that the Ayah commanded,
"Strictly adhere to it."
Abu Al-Aliyah and Ar-Rabi said that,
وَاذْكُرُواْ مَا فِيهِ
(and remember that which is therein) means,
"Read the Tawrah and implement it."
Allah's statement